DOHA (AP) – The Palestinian football team’s hopes of advancing to the knockout stage of the Asian Cup for the first time were boosted after a 1-1 draw against 10-man United Arab Emirates (UAE) yesterday.
An own goal from Bader Nasser secured a point at Al Janoub Stadium after Sultan Adil had headed UAE in front in the first-half.
The Palestinian team had earlier missed the chance to equalise from the penalty spot and then failed to convert a host of chances to win the game in Group C.
“I believe that we’ve delivered a heroic match,” said Palestinian coach Makram Daboub.
“We deserved to win. We wasted a lot of chances. The players were very brave.
“One point keeps our chances alive.”
UAE coach Paulo Bento praised the resilience of his players.
“I want to say that our players were warriors to the end. This is what we take from this match. The sacrifice our players had in this match is something that belongs to our team,” he said. “With 10 players or with 11 players, the team shows everything every time.”
The evening had started with chants of “Free, free Palestine” before kickoff and they were repeated at intervals during the match. UAE went in front in the 23rd minute after Adil headed in Ali Saleh’s cross from the right for his second goal of the tournament.
The Palestinian team was given the chance to even the score after Khalifa Al Hammadi hauled Oday Dabbagh to the ground in the area.
Video assistant referee (VAR) had to tell referee Ahmad Alali to review the sideline monitor after the official had initially played on. And when he subsequently pointed to the penalty spot, cheers rang around the stadium as if a goal had been scored.
Al Hammadi was shown a red card during a lengthy delay and there were more pro-Palestinian chants as Tamer Seyam stepped up to take his spot kick.
But he failed to level as UAE keeper Khalid Eisa pushed his effort away.
The Palestinian team created a slew of chances in its search for a winner, with Dabbagh repeatedly coming close without finding a way through.
